Southern Adventist UniversityKnowledgeExchange@Southern

Senior Research Projects Southern Scholars

1996

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy: A PreliminaryReport on the Role of Pre-Operative ProphylacticAntibioticsScott D. Hodges

Stacey J. McClarty

Follow this and additional works at: https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/senior_research

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Southern Scholars at KnowledgeExchange@Southern. It has been accepted for inclusionin Senior Research Projects by an authorized administrator of KnowledgeExchange@Southern. For more information, please contactjspears@southern.edu.

Recommended CitationHodges, Scott D. and McClarty, Stacey J., "Discitis Following Microdiskectomy: A Preliminary Report on the Role of Pre-OperativeProphylactic Antibiotics" (1996). Senior Research Projects. 117.https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/senior_research/117

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy:

A Preliminary Report on the Role of Pre-Operative Prophylactic Antibiotics

KeyWords:

Submitted to fulfill

the Senior Project Requirement for

Southern Scholars of Southern Adventist University

by

Scott D. Hodges, D.O.

Stacey J. McClarty

cefazolin, discitis, microdiskectomy, prophylactic antibiotics, results, vancomycin

Dear Reviewers:

This paper was written over the course of the summer of 1996, during which time I was serving a fellowship position as research assistant at the Chattanooga Orthopaedic Group under the direct supervision of Dr. Scott Hodges, spinal surgeon.

This paper has been presented five times, twice by Dr. Hodges and three times by myself. I presented this paper in the fall semester of 1996 to the Intra to Research biology class at Southern Adventist University. In the spring semester of 1998, I presented the paper a second time at S.A.U. to the Biology Seminar class, a required research class for senior biology majors. And the third time I presented the paper was in April of 1998 for the Tennessee Academy of Science Collegiate Division Meetings, which that year were held at Southern Adventist University. This project was accepted as a poster and presented by Dr. Hodges at the following two orthopaedic conventions: the 14th annual meeting of the Southern Orthopaedic Association, Pebble Beach, California, July 24-6, 1997; and also at the Annual Clinical Assembly of Osteopathic Specialists, Atlanta, Georgi~ September 20-3, 1997.

A full manuscript of this paper is enclosed, including an abstract outlining study design, goals, methods, results, and conclusions.

Sincerely,

J. 7

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

ABSTRACT

Study Design: 83 consecutive microdiskectomies were performed and evaluated to

discern the efficacy of pre-operative prophylactic antibiotics ( cefazolin and vancomycin).

Objective: The objective of this preliminary report was to evaluate the amount, time of

administration, effectiveness, and need of prophylactic antibiotics using our surgical

results.

Summary of Background Data: Previous studies have yielded conflicting results

regarding the role of antibiotics in prevention and treatment of discitis , and in their

ability to penetrate the intervertebral disc.

Methods: lgm of cefazolin was intravenously administered to 76 patients, 30 minutes

prior to incision~ 500mg of vancomycin was likewise administered to the remaining 7

patients who were allergic to cepbalosporins. No post-operative antibiotic was

administered.

Results: Of the 83 consecutive surgeries, no patient developed iatrogenic disci tis. The

average length of follow-up was 6 months (range 1 - 23 months).

Conclusions: Our results suggest that the use of cephalosporins (and glycopeptides)

seems to prevent discitis when intravenously administered 30 minutes prior to surgery;

that being the case, there appears to be no advantage in additional post-operative dosing.

However, in light of conflicting reports and the preliminary nature of this study,

conceivably there is another explanation. Perhaps there is in fact no correlation between

pre-operative antibiotics and post-operative discitis.

2

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

INTRODUCTION

Lumbar discitis following microdiskectomy is an infrequent and incompletely

understood complication. When it does occur, it is costly and debilitating (3, 12, 18).

Following disc excision, incidence rates of discitis vary from 0.75% to 3% (12,15,16).

Ford and Key first described infection of the intervertebral disc space after lumbar

discectomy in 1955 (6); reports since then have most often identified the infectious

organism of Staphylococcus aureus (5,11,12).

Numerous publications support the use of prophylactic antibiotics (1,8,9,10,13,19), but

few definitive studies exist, particularly concerning microdiskectomy. Therefore, the

aim of this preliminary report was to give an idea whether or not pre-operative

prophylactic antibiotics were effective. Based on the available literature, parameters

were chosen that were delivered most likely to succeed in the prevention of iatrogenic

disci tis.

3

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Inclusion Criteria:

Between August 1994 and May 1996, 84 consecutive microdiskectomies were

performed by the senior author (SDH) to produce this retrospective review. One patient

had been previously admitted to the hospital and was under antibiotic administration

leading up to surgery. She was excluded from the study because she was neither

administered cefazolin nor vancomycin, thus becoming inapplicable to this review;

however, after a 3-month evaluation, she had not developed discitis. No other patient

was excluded from the study group based on medical history, worker' s compensation,

age, or other stipulation.

Surgical Procedures:

Coinciding with the reports ofOsti et al (14), 1gm of Ancef(cefazolin) was

intravenously administered to 76 (92%) patients, 30 minutes prior to incision; the

remaining 7 (8%) patients were allergic to cephalosporins and instead were given 500mg

of vancomycin, administered in likewise fashion. A routine microdiskectomy was

performed in all cases, and no post-operative antibiotic was given. General information

regarding these 83 surgeries is presented in Table 1.

4

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

RESULTS

MRI Analysis:

From the 83 surgeries, there were no clinical developments of disci tis. An MRI was

taken of any patient who had persistent back pain, an increased temperature, or an

elevated erythrocyte rate (ESR); a review of the MRI results revealed no diagnoses of

disci tis.

Patient Follow-Up:

Discitis usually appears 4-5 weeks after surgery (3,7,12); therefore, following

discharge, all patients were evaluated at 2-week, 6-week, and 3-month intervals (as

necessary). Two patients had their final evaluation at 4-weeks; they were told to follow-

up as necessary. Neither patient had further medical complications and needed no

further follow-up. The average length of follow-up after surgery was 6 months (range 4

weeks - 23 months).

High Risk Patients:

Prior to surgery, there were three high risk patients; these patients were classified high

risk due to treatment with steroidal medications (such as Prednisone) for maladies of

diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and asthma. All of these patients tolerated both the

antibiotic administration and the microdiskectomy procedure well, developing no post-

operative signs or symptoms of discitis.

5

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

DISCUSSION

Intravenous antibiotics are routinely administered before lumbar surgery as a

prophylaxis agent infection (discitis) during the operation (1). There is controversy,

however, regarding the role of antibiotics in prevention and treatment of disci tis, and in

their ability to penetrate the intervertebral disc. Since the human intervertebral disc

spaces are avascular after age 20, antibiotics must enter discs by way of passive diffusion

(2,4). Consequently, there are conflicting reports as to when, or if, the antibiotic should

be administered. Reports by Boscardin et al (1) and Guiboux et al (8) support the use of

preoperative antibiotics (cefazolin, vancomycin) given approximately 1 hour before

entering the disc because of peak disc concentration of antibiotic at that time. However,

differing reports by Eismont et al ( 4) and Scuderi et al (17) could not demonstrate

cephalosporin penetration into the nucleus pulposus in their experiments with rabbits;

Scuderi also reported the highest concentration level of vancomycin occurred in the

nucleus pulposus at 8 hours after initial injection.

Fraser et al (7) used a sheep model for his two-part study of iatrogenic discitis.

Cefazolin was detectable within the disc space 30 minutes after inoculation. Also, no

discitis was noted in sheep that were protected by intravenous cefazolin administration

30 minutes before injection of bacteria, whereas discitis developed in all of the

unprotected sheep. This report supports our findings in that our results suggest the use of

cephalosporins (and glycopeptides) seems to prevent discitis when intravenously

administered 30 minutes prior to surgery.

6

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

Since pre-operative prophylactic antibiotics alone seem to have prevented discitis, we

feel that there is no advantage in administering additional post-operative antibiotics.

Fraser et al (7) and Guiboux et al (8) agree that there seems to be no clear benefit of post-

operative dosing, Fraser et al stating that repeated intradiscal injections of antibiotic as a

means of delivering a therapeutic level of antibiotic to the disc space would not seem to

be a practical method of treatment.

In light of the lack of controls and the preliminary nature of our study, these results

should be viewed with caution. Since we had no cases of discitis in 83 consecutive

microdiskectomies, one conclusion could be that the prophylactic antibiotics prevented

the development of iatrogenic discitis. However, Eismont et al ( 4) and Scuderi et al (17)

reported no antibiotic penetration of the nucleus pulposus. Given these conflicting

reports plus the low incidence rate of discitis in general, an alternative conclusion could

be that there is no correlation between pre-operative prophylactic antibiotics and post-

operative bacterial infection. Obviously, additional randomized prospective studies must

be performed before and firm conclusions can be reached.

7

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, when prophylactic antibiotics (lgm cefazolin or 500mg vancomycin)

were intravenously administered 30 minutes prior to surgery in 83 consecutive

microdiskectomies, there was no disci tis; hence, this procedure looks to be an effective

method in the prevention of iatrogenic disci tis and there appears to be no need for post-

operative antibiotics. However, whether pre..:operative antibiotics are completely

necessary is yet to be answered. We are currently working on a randomized prospective

study which we feel is necessary to determine the actual need of pre- and post-operative

prophylactic antibiotics.

8

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

REFERENCES 1. Boscardin JB, Ringus JC, Feingold DJ, Ruda SC. Spine 1992:17 (Suppl):145-48

2. Coventry MB, Ghormley RK, Kernohan JW. The intervertebral disc: Its microscopic anatomy and pathology. J Bone Joint Surg 1945: 27:105-12

3. Dall BE, Rowe DE, Odette WG, Batts DB. Postoperative discitis: Diagnosis and management. Clin Orthop 1987:224:138-46

4. Eismont FJ, Wiesel SW, Brighton CT, Rothman RH. Antibiotic penetration into Rabbit Nucleus Pulposus. Spine 1987: 12:254-6

5. EI-Gindi S, Aref S, Salam M, Andrew J. Infection of intervertebral discs after operation. J Bone JointSurg [Br] 1976:58:114-6

6. Ford L T, Key JA. Postoperative infection of intervertebral disc space. South Med J 1955: 48:1295-1303

7. Fraser RD, Osti OL, Vernon-Roberts B. Iatrogenic Discitis: The role of intravenous antibiotics in prevention and treatment. Spine 1989: 14:1025-32

8. Guiboux J-P, Cantor JB, Small SD, Zervous M, Berkowitz BN. The effect of prophylactic antibiotics on iatrogenic intervertebral disc infections: A rabbit model. Spine 1955: 20:685-88

9. Haines SJ. Prophylactic antibiotics. Chap 45. Neurosurgical and Related Techniques. Neurosurgery. Edited by RH Wilkins, SS Rengachary. New York, McGraw-Hill, 1985, pp 448-52

10. Horwitz NH, Curtin JA. Prophylactic antibiotics and wound infections following laminectomy for lumbar disc herniation: A retrospective study. J Neurosurg 1975: 43:727-31

11. Kornberg M, Eismont FJ. Discitis: An elusive infection. Infections in Surgery 1983: 818-24

12. Lindholm TS, Pylkkanen P. Discitis following removal of intervertebral disc. Spine 1982: 7:618-22

13. Mollman HD, Haines SJ. Risk factors for postoperative neurological wound infection: A case-control study. J Neurosurg 1986: 64:902-6

14. Osti OL, Fraser RD, Vernon-Roberts B. Discitis after discography: The role of prophylactic antibiotics . .! Bone .Joint Surg [Br] 1990: 72-8:271-4

9

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

15. Pilgaard S. Discitis (closed space infection) following removal of lumbar intervertebral disc. J Bone Joint Surg [Am] 1969: 51:713-6

16. Reichenback W. Aseptische Wirbelnekrosen nach operation lumbaler discushemien. Schweiz Arch Neurol Neurochir Psychiatr 1971: 108:61-74

17. Scuderi GJ, Greenberg SS, Banovac K, Martinez OV, Eismont FJ. Penetration of glycopeptide antibiotics in nucleus pulposus. Spine 1993: 18:2039-42

18. Taylor TF, Dooley BJ. Antibiotics in the management of post-operative disc space infections. Aust NZ.J Surg 1978: 48:74-7

19. Tenney JH, Vlahov D, Salcman M, Ducker TB. Wide variation in risk of wound infection following clean neurosurgery: Implications for perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis. J Neurusurg 1985: 62:243-7

10

Discitis Following Microdiskectomy

Statistics on 83 Microdiskectomy Surgeries

Patient Age (at time of surgery):

Sex:

Male Female

Side ofMicrodiskectomy:

Left Right

Levd ofMicrodiskectomy:

L4-5

Number(%)

45 (54%) 38 (46%)

52 (53%) 31 (37%)

other L3-5)

28 52 (62.5%) 3 (3.5%)

Estimated Blood Loss (in ccs):

Antibiotics

Ancef lgm Vancomycin

Yes No

76 (92%) 7(8%)

31 (37%) 52 (63%)

Table 1

11

Average (range)

43 (22-76)

45